Asinex and Merz Pharmaceuticals GmbH Announce Extension of Drug Discovery Collaboration

Navigation Menu

Press Releases

Home > Asinex News > Press Releases > ASINEX Ltd. & Merz Pharmaceuticals GmbH Announce Collaboration

ASINEX Ltd. and Merz Pharmaceuticals GmbH Announce Extension of Drug Discovery Collaboration

Moscow, 21st of November 2005 - ASINEX Ltd, a worldwide leader in lead generation and lead optimization, and Merz Pharmaceuticals GmbH, announce the prolongation of an integrated drug discovery project focused on a CNS target.

ASINEX initially synthesized several unique new chemical structures based on hit compounds Merz selected from ASINEX's screening libraries. During the second phase of the project ASINEX will use computational techniques in order to design new structures with improved solubility, metabolic stability and potency.

Tanja Weil, Group Leader Medicinal Chemistry and Drug Design at Merz Pharmaceuticals said, "The collaboration with Asinex allowed Merz Pharmaceuticals to select new chemical compounds of interest for its drug discovery programs. The collaboration is progressing with the improvement of physicochemical parameters of new lead compounds that will be tested in our laboratories. We are looking forward to continuing the collaboration with ASINEX all the way through to candidate selection and optimization".

Dmitry Genis, ASINEX's CEO stated, "We are very pleased to announce a successful integrated drug discovery project, and are delighted that Merz Pharmaceuticals has decided to enlarge the collaboration to the library synthesis and optimization stage. Once again, ASINEX's technology platform has proved to be a creative tool to design unique small molecules drug candidates for protein targets. We are determined to provide Merz Pharmaceuticals with a high value set of lead compounds and to establish a long-term relationship".

About ASINEX

ASINEX (www.asinex.com) is a full-service chemistry provider of 'Intelligent Chemistry' for the lead generation and optimization stage of drug discovery. Well known as a supplier of diverse, small molecule libraries for screening and building blocks for combinatorial chemistry, ASINEX has developed a reputation for cost-effective and efficient Lead Optimization, Custom Synthesis and Focused Library Generation. Based in Moscow, with a total of 122 chemists (54 Ph.D.), 9 computational chemists (7 Ph.D.) and 38 biologists / pharmacologists (24 Ph.D.). ASINEX is a powerful drug discovery resource.

ASINEX Contact:

ASINEX Ltd
Anna Klochkova
Project manager
5 Gabrichevskogo St. Bldg 8,
Moscow 123367, Russia
Phone: +7 495 780 34 10 ext 2323
Fax: +7 495 780 34 11
Email: aklochkova@asinex.com

About Merz Pharmaceuticals:

Merz Pharmaceuticals GmbH (www.merz.com) is an innovative and international healthcare company, specialized in research, development and marketing of pharmaceuticals for the treatment of neurological and psychiatric diseases. Merz is a leader in the field of Alzheimer research and developed the first drug for the treatment of moderate to severe Alzheimer's. Other franchise covered by Merz are hepatology/metabolic diseases and dermatology.

For further contact:

Merz Pharmaceuticals GmbH
Corporate Communications
Eckenheimer Landstraße 100
60318 Frankfurt
Phone: +49-691503-411
Fax: ++49-691503-400
Email (work): presse@merz.de

Statements contained in this release, other than historical facts, are "forward-looking statements" (as such term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995). These statements are based on currently available information, on current best estimates, and on assumptions believed to be reasonable. This information, these estimates and assumptions may prove to be incomplete or erroneous, and involve numerous risks and uncertainties, beyond the Company's control. Hence, actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. All mentions and descriptions of Recordati products are intended solely as information on the general nature of the company's activities and are not intended to indicate the advisability of administering any product in any particular instance.